The effect of local photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid in the treatment of multicentric squamous intraepithelial lesions in the female lower genital tract

The detection rate of multicentric squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) in the female lower genital tract increased, recently. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) in treating multicentric SILs. A total of 101 patients with multisite SILs and underwent ALA-PDT were enrolled in this study. they were followed up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the end of treatment, and every six months thereafter. At 6-month follow-up, the lesion complete remission (CR) rates in groups of cervical with vaginal SIL, cervical with vulvar SIL, vaginal with vulvar SIL, and cervical with vaginal and vulvar SIL were 78.3%, 89.5%, 100% and 85.7%, respectively. The HPV clearance rates were 53.6%, 53.6%, 50.0% and 28.6%, respectively. ALA-PDT is a effective and safet reatment for multisite SILs. It removes the lesions while avoiding extensive damage to the female lower genital tract.